{"id":43691,"date":"2012-02-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/undercover-investigator-senses-gods-sovereignty-in-brothel\/"},"modified":"2012-02-06T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-02-06T00:00:00","slug":"undercover-investigator-senses-gods-sovereignty-in-brothel","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/undercover-investigator-senses-gods-sovereignty-in-brothel\/","title":{"rendered":"Undercover Investigator Senses God’s Sovereignty in a Brothel"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his book God in a Brothel<\/em><\/a>, investigator Daniel Walker recounts his attempts to infiltrate brothels and gather evidence so he could release women and children from sex trafficking. He describes how he overcome his initial fears with a deep-seated confidence in God's sovereign rule—even in a despicable brothel:<\/p>\n\n

\n

I had not been conducting investigations into sex trafficking for very long, and being inside a brothel still left me feeling vulnerable and afraid. I was afraid of my sinful nature. I was afraid of perpetrators and corrupt officials who were profiting from organized crime. And I was afraid of going into what I perceived as enemy territory.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

But as he closed his eyes and prayed, suddenly God completely changed his perspective:<\/p>\n\n

\n

A still, voice reminded me that "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4<\/a> KJV) …. The words of an old hymn came to mind: "This Is My Father's World." Again I saw for the first time that the brothel I was standing in was as much a part of God's creation as any beautiful mountain or crystal cathedral, and that God had in no way surrendered it to anyone.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

I knew that God was in that brothel before I arrived, suffering with [victims of sexual trafficking], witnessing [their] defilement night after night and sharing in [their] tears, and that he would remain in the brothel long after I left. Any uncertainty I previously had about walking into such a dark and "evil' place vanished.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

\n

Though not in an audible sense, I nevertheless heard his command and his call to go boldly in his name to such places as these, to rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and to plead for the widow.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3512,3585,3903,4098,4389,4564,4699,4737,5026,5027],"tax_ctp_topics":[388],"class_list":["post-43691","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-boldness","tax_ctp_tags-christ-suffering","tax_ctp_tags-evil","tax_ctp_tags-greatness-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-lordship-of-christ","tax_ctp_tags-omnipresence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-presence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-providence-of-god","tax_ctp_tags-sovereignty","tax_ctp_tags-sovereignty-of-god"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"\nUndercover Investigator Senses God's Sovereignty in a Brothel - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/undercover-investigator-senses-gods-sovereignty-in-brothel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Undercover Investigator Senses God's Sovereignty in a Brothel - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his book God in a Brothel, investigator Daniel Walker recounts his attempts to infiltrate brothels and gather evidence so he could release women and children from sex trafficking. 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